Posted tagged ‘R.M. Guera’

I’ve raved about Scalped a fewtimeshere and now I’m starting to run out of new ways to praise it. It’s the best crime comic written today, and quite possibly the best ever.

The Gnawing is the latest tale, in which undercover agent Dash Bad Horse is tasked by Chief Red Crow to find the rat in his organization. And if that isn’t bad enough Dash also has to attempt to keep a witness to a murder perpetrated by Red Crow alive long enough to testify. And Red Crow has his own problems after inciting a war with his casino’s financiers.

The ensuing conflict is one of the most brutal stories I’ve ever read. This is an epic tragedy, with no happy endings. In fact, the saddest part of the book is the news that a character is pregnant and that the pain and suffering endured by everyone in the story is about to be extended into another generation. It’s heartbreaking and ingenious writing that somehow made a great book get even better.

The last time I reviewed a collection of Scalped I said it was on the way to becoming Vertigo’s best book. The release of vol. 4 clinches that. Jason Aaron and R.M. Guera are creating the single bleakest piece of noir literature I have ever encountered, and man is it brilliant.

This volume contains two stories. First up is the two-part Boudoir Stomp, featuring some great guest art from Davide Furno. This tale explores the downwards spiral of a relationship between protagonist Dash Bad Horse and his junkie lover Carol. This is followed up by the title story in which Chief Red Crow declares war on his financial backers while strugling to live a slightly more righteous existence in order to honor the memory of the slain Gina Bad Horse.

Anyone who need proof of just how powerful a medium comics can be need look no further.

Jason Aaron is rapidly becoming my new favorite comics writer. He came out of nowhere a little over two years ago with the Other Side, the best war comic of the last 20 years not written by Garth Ennis. He then went on to write one of the few Wolverine stories in recent years that has been any good, and has recently become the ongoing writer of Ghost Rider of all things.

And then there’s Scalped, the heir apparent to 100 Bullets as Vertigo’s flagship crime book. I can’t say much about the latest volume without giving away huge chunks of the plot. Suffice to say that things get much worse for the book’s protagonist, Dashiell Bad Horse. As for the quality of the book, it’s as good as ever. Aaron’s writing feels like a punch in the gut and R.M. Guera’s art (which reminds me of Paul Pope and Richard Corben at times) fits the mood perfectly. This is rapidly becoming Vertigo’s best book.